Frostblood by Elly Blake

Seventeen-year-old Ruby is a fireblood who must hide her powers of heat and flame from the cruel frostblood ruling class that wants to destroy all that are left of her kind. So when her mother is killed for protecting her and rebel frostbloods demand her help to kill their rampaging king, she agrees. But Ruby’s powers are unpredictable, and she’s not sure she’s willing to let the rebels and an infuriating (yet irresistible) young man called Arcus use her as their weapon.

All she wants is revenge, but before they can take action, Ruby is captured and forced to take part in the king’s tournaments that pit fireblood prisoners against frostblood champions. Now she has only one chance to destroy the maniacal ruler who has taken everything from her and from the icy young man she has come to love.

Fast-paced and compelling, Frostblood is the first in a page-turning new young adult three-book series about a world where flame and ice are mortal enemies—but together create a power that could change everything.

I adore fantasy and YA-Fantasy is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me and as such sometimes it leaves me shaking a book or wanting to lob it across the room. Sometimes, quite rarely, I find a YA-Fantasy novel that makes me want to hug it.

This is one of them.

The world that has been divided, there are those who are normal and those who are Frostblood or Fireblood, the differences in the blood? One can create/control fire or ice. There is magnificent lore behind the creation of these bloods and what is more the darkness that continuously creates a divide and even chaos. This is done wonderfully because initially, it shows that Firebloods are hunted, killed and destroyed but as the story unfolds it paints Firebloods in a poor light. Eventually, the book shifts to a point where you begin seeing them as individuals and not Fireblood vs Frostblood.

Ruby is an unknown Fireblood in hiding, but when word gets out that she is being hidden by her mother soldiers come to pull her away and kill her mother. She is sent to prison for half a year when she is sprung from jail by a shadowed figure and a kind monk. They have a plan for her, to unseat the King from the throne but Ruby is quite against it all and in truth acts like a feral wild cat being cornered.

I enjoyed Ruby because she was real, she was temperamental, broken and bitter. She had to recover, had to learn how to use her powers and while yes she was special she didn’t have the “special snowflake” syndrome we’re so accustomed to dealing with.

Arkus is the shrouded figure who is a mystery but is quite strong and aids in Ruby’s training when she comes around. He’s possibly my favorite character in the book, stand-offish, reserved, but a well of emotions under his cold exterior. He is mysterious and although his turn event wasn’t that much of a surprise to me, I adored him.

I sucked this book down so fast and the only reason I put it down was due to the fact Christmas was going on and that my iPad battery was depleted, I could have easily finished this in one sitting. I will most definitely be picking up the next books, too. I am hooked.

There was massive character development, some political intrigue, action and as for being like Frozen? Pfft. Elsa wishes she were as cool [BAHA…pun intended,] as the Frostbloods. The display of powers is intriguing, almost like Tai-Chi. The world is developed and it does come in the form of some info drop but it’s more like a story being told, so it was alright. There is a romance, but it doesn’t take the front seat and it isn’t sickening, either.